Granville, Ohio - In a game of some of the NCAC's best, DePauw outlasted Denison in a thriller, with the Tigers scoring in the final minutes to secure a 35-28 road victory. Quarterback Tyler Green had possibly one of the best quarterback performances in Denison history, as he broke the Denison single-game record for passing yards with 519, and now ranks second in pass completions in a game with 38, a record he broke last week against Wittenberg, where he had 40 completions. DePauw improves to 6-1 and 4-1 in conference play, while Denison falls to 4-3 and 3-2 in conference play.

The first half felt like deja vu for the Big Red, as the Tigers jumped out on top early, scoring 28 unanswered thanks to an aggressive passing attack led by the Ballantine brothers. The Tigers, having the number one-ranked defense in the country coming into today's game, were keeping the Big Red offense in check.

With 24 seconds left in the first half, Denison got aggressive, and that is when Green started to find some rhythm, as he led the Big Red to the DePauw 36-yard line for a last chance to heave a pass to the endzone. Green rolled out to the right and launched the ball into the endzone, and the two-sport phenom Cade Nowik came down with the jump ball to gain some much-needed momentum going into the half, down 28-7.

The Big Red only had seven first downs compared to DePauw's 16 to end the half. Green threw for 170 yards to a wide range of receivers. The Tigers, before today, only gave up 171.5 passing yards per game.

With a spark to start the second half, the Big Red did not let the momentum fizzle, as Green once again led an eight-play, 71-yard touchdown drive, capped off by finding Jack Williams in the corner to make it a two-possession game, 28-14. Green on the drive found Grayson Kerscher for 40 of those yards, showcasing his favorite target in a big way.

With renewed life igniting this Big Red defense, Denison stopped the Tigers' offense thanks to some big plays from linebacker Rory Ralston and defensive end Casper Rublowsky. The Big Red were able to drive the ball to midfield but were stalled and forced to punt away, as punter Arjun Narang flipped the field and pinned the Tigers back at their own seven-yard line.

The Big Red defense stepped up once again, denying the Tigers' drive, forcing them to punt. Cole Compton and Ben Perin were crucial in getting pressure on Ballantine and not getting off any easy throws. 

Heading into the fourth quarter, the Big Red were driving, as Green used his vision to hit multiple receivers down the field to set up first and goal from the two. On fourth and goal, needing a touchdown, Green found Kerscher for a one-yard pitch-and-catch to go down 28-21 with 11:26 to go in the fourth quarter.

Both teams would exchange punts on their next drives, and the Big Red defense held in to force a punt, but the Tigers would pin Denison on their one-yard line. With the run game stalling, Denison turned to the passing game to get out of the danger zone, and they did so in a big way, as Green found Kerscher on a back-shoulder throw in which Kerscher eluded a defender to take the pass 99 yards to the house to tie the game up in an emphatic way, 28-28. It is the longest play in Denison history.

With 6:56 left to play in the game, the Tigers started to regain their rhythm from the first half and drove down the field. With first and goal from the six, Ralston came in and made the biggest defensive play of the game, taking down Ballantine for a 10-yard sack and second and goal from the 16. After an incomplete pass, it set up third and goal, and Ballantine found Palmer Samuels for 15 yards to set up fourth and goal from the one-yard line. With the game on the line, the Tigers were able to punch it in and go up 35-28 with 1:22 to go.

A situation they have been in before, the Big Red turned once again to the passing attack to lead them down the field. Green would find his targets Logan Yater, Williams, and Kerscher all across the field to get down to the DePauw 29 with 18 seconds left to try and potentially tie up the game. Unfortunately, the Tigers were able to get to Green, and an intentional grounding call ran off the clock, and the Big Red comeback fell just short, and lost 35-28.

The Big Red finished with 504 yards of total offense and 519 yards passing. The Denison defense only gave up 113 rushing yards, in which DePauw averaged 138 a game. The offense finished with 24 first downs and was efficient on third down, going 6-for-13.

Offensive Leaders

• Quarterback Tyler Green broke the single-game passing yard record with 519 yards. The previous record was held by Greg Neuedorf with 503 against Earlham on October 21, 2000. His 38 completions are also the second-most in a game.
• Wide Receiver Grayson Kerscher had his own historic day, as his 197 yards rank fifth all-time in Denison history for receiving yards in a game. He finished his day with 12 catches for 197 yards and two touchdowns.
• Green dished the ball out to six different pass catchers, including Logan Yater, Cade Nowik, and Jack Williams. Yater finished his day with 11 catches for 135 yards, and Nowik and Williams both had six catches for over 80 yards, and both had a score.
• This is the fourth-straight game in which the Big Red have scored 28+.

Defensive Leaders

• Sophomore linebacker Rory Ralston had a career day, leading the Big Red in tackles with 11 and had a career-best two and a half tackles for loss and one and a half sacks. It is his second game in a row with double-digit tackles.
• Thomas Hansen followed up his big week with another solid performance, totaling seven tackles and two pass breakups.
• Colton Morrow had nine tackles and a pass breakup.
• The Big Red defense only gave up seven points in the second half. They tallied six tackles for loss on the day, the most in a game this season.

Up Next for the Big Red

The Big Red will return home as they face Oberlin College on Saturday, November 1, at 1 p.m.